- A shrewd financial investor, Mathis owns a Post Office in Wisconsin that he leases to the United States Postal Service.
- One of the most financially ingenious artists in the recording industry, Mathis has full responsibility and creative control of the production of his recordings through Jon Mat Records, Inc. where he chooses his own songs, producers, etc. while Columbia Records remains responsible for distribution.
- Just two years after his first recordings, his record album "Johnny's Greatest Hits" (1958) (Columbia Records) started the "Greatest Hits" trend for recording artists and record companies; every record company thereafter began to release "Greatest Hits" albums for their recording artists.
- As of 2004, he has had the longest stay of any popular artist with Columbia Records to date, having recorded for them almost exclusively since 1956.
- Attended and graduated from George Washington High School in San Francisco, California. Attended the same high school with Lee Meriwether.
- Attended San Francisco State University on an athletic scholarship, intended to become an English teacher and a physical education teacher.
- He was a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962). Fellow guest John Byner performed his dead-on impersonation of Mathis' singing style, leaving Mathis in uncontrollable laughter.
- Early in his career, his then manager Helen Noga attempted to develop a feature film about the life of Black/Peruvian Indian saint Martin de Porres with Mathis portraying the Afro-Peruvian title role. However, this project never reached fruition.
- Has African American and Native American ancestry.
- Early in his career, he became known as the "king of make-out music".
- Mathis has had a string of hits, all on Columbia Records, stretching from the 1950s through the 1980s and beyond. Hit singles include "It's Not for Me to Say", "Chances Are", "Wonderful! Wonderful!", "A Certain Smile", "Misty", "Gina", "What Will Mary Say?" and "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" (Duet with Deniece Williams). Hit albums include "Wonderful! Wonderful!", "Open Fire, Two Guitars", "Johnny's Greatest Hits", "Heavenly", "Faithfully", "Warm", "Merry Christmas" and "Up, Up, and Away".
- Won a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award on 23 February 2003.
- Jazz pianist and composer Vince Guaraldi, who composed the music for A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) and many other "Charlie Brown" television specials was the featured pianist and then-unknown talent on Mathis' demonstration recordings for Columbia Records in 1956.
- He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1501 Vine Street in Hollywood, California on June 1, 1972.
- Has the distinction of having an album - "Johnny Mathis' Greatest Hits" - on the Billboard charts for longer than any other album in history: 490 weeks, or the equivalent of 9-1/2 weeks.
- In 1982, the Johnny Mathis Invitational Track & Field Tournament at San Francisco State University is named in his honour.
- Was a featured vocalist on the Grammy nominated (2004 awards) album "XXL" by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. Composer-arranger-pianist-saxophonist-band leader Gordon Goodwin has remained longtime friends with Mathis and was once his former pianist.
- Referenced in the song "The Call of the Wild (Merengue)" by David Byrne on his album "Rei Momo" (1989).
- Friends with actor-director Joe Mantegna.
- An avid golfer, he hit his fifth hole-in-one at the 176 yard, 16th hole at the Riviera Country Club in April 2004.
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